EU Parliamentary Questions answered on detention conditions of political prisoners in the UAE
European Parliament written question
Question asked by Sirpa Pietikäinen, PPE
Asked on 24 March 2021
‘Will the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (VP/HR) urge the Emirati Government to invite independent, impartial bodies to investigate all allegations of torture and ill-treatment in detention centres, and hold those responsible accountable in accordance with the law?
Will the VP/HR encourage the Emirati Government to arrange in-country visits to detention centres by impartial, independent bodies, in order to ensure that the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners are being followed?
Will the VP/HR publicly call for His Majesty Emir Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan to grant the release of all political activists, human rights defenders, journalists and prisoners of conscience, including Ahmed Mansour, if the investigation proves that they have been tortured and subjected to ill-treatment in the United Arab Emirates since 2012?’
Answered by High Representative/Vice-President Borrell on behalf of the European Commission
Answered on 28 May 2021
‘The European Union, through its Delegation in Abu Dhabi and together with EU Member States represented there, is actively monitoring the overall human rights situation in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), including the situation of Ahmed Mansour and other individual cases. In doing so, the EU has been reiterating its principled position on human rights defenders and freedom of expression, in line with the existing EU Guidelines.
Moreover, following the confirmation of Ahmed Mansour’s ten-year sentence on 31 December 2018 by the Federal Supreme Court of the UAE, the EU issued a statement stressing that no one shall be detained merely on the grounds of peacefully expressing his or her opinions.
The 9th EU-UAE human rights dialogue on 22 February 2020 in Brussels provided a further opportunity to discuss pertinent issues of concern with the UAE authorities, including on freedom of expression, freedom of assembly, the right to a fair trial, allegations of torture and ill-treatment as well as prison conditions. On that occasion, the EU again stressed the importance of accountability, hereby encouraging the UAE authorities to consider acceding to core United Nations’ (UN) human rights treaties and to invite UN Special Procedures and international non-governmental organisations (NGOs). The meeting also allowed an opportunity to raise individual cases.
The EU will revert to these issues during the next round of the EU-UAE human rights dialogue tentatively scheduled for June 2021.’
